Peach Tree Times

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Georgia during the week ending June 26, a 35.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 26, there were 1,588 deaths in the state. 21.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 23.4 percent were from cancer and 3.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.2 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	371	320
Heart disease	342	318
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	94	75
Cerebrovascular diseases	93	98
Alzheimer's disease	74	86
Diabetes mellitus	44	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	35	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	37
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	19	42
Influenza and pneumonia	16	20

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-26	Number of Deaths 2021-06-19
Alzheimer disease and dementia	130	159